Wet wipes are available in a variety of shapes, sizes and compositions. One common wet wipe is a pre-moistened, disposable towelettes. Such wet wipes can be utilized in a variety of applications both domestic and industrial and can perform a variety of functions. Wet wipes are typically used to wipe surfaces both animate and inanimate, and may provide numerous benefits such as cleaning, cleansing, disinfecting, and skin care benefits. One particular application of wet wipes is for wiping parts of a human body particularly when wash water is not available, for example when traveling. Wet wipes are also commonly used for human cleansing and wiping in general such as anal, perineal and genital cleansing, and face and hand cleansing. One example of such a wet wipe is an intimate feminine hygiene wipe. Wet wipes may also be used for application of substances to the body including removing or applying make-up, skin conditioners and medications. Other applications for wet wipes include wiping the buttock of a baby during diaper changes and for the treatment of adult and baby dermatitis partly caused by the use of diapers and incontinence undergarments. In addition, wet wipes can be used for wiping and or cleaning other surfaces or for the application of compositions to surfaces. For example, wet wipes can be used to wipe kitchen and bathroom surfaces, eyeglasses, shoes and surfaces which require cleaning in industry. Examples of wet wipes in industrial applications include cleaning surfaces of tools, machinery, contaminated, dirty or greasy parts and materials, etc. Wet wipes can also be used for the cleaning or grooming of household pets, like cats and dogs.
Various dispenser designs are commercially available today for housing, storing and dispensing such wet wipes. Some are large tubs or flexible packages that are several inches in vertical height. Such larger dispensers are designed to hold over eighty wet wipes. Other designs include slim travel dispensers or travel packs that can contain less than twenty five wet wipes. Some dispensers allow for removal of an individual wet wipe while others permit multiple wet wipes to be simultaneously withdrawn from the dispenser. One issue with many dispensers is the lack of ease in removing a single wet wipe with one hand. For example, a mother in the act of changing an infant's diaper may be required to use her right hand to hold the baby still while using only her left hand to open and grab a wet wipe. Under such conditions, the consumer needs to be able to readily pick up and separate one wet wipe from the stack and remove the wet wipe from the dispenser using only one hand and without causing the dispenser to be raised up from the surface on which it is placed during the removal process.
The problem of not being able to easily dispense a single wet wipe from the stack and remove it from the dispenser is due to a number of reasons. First, each wet wipe sheet is commonly bi-folded or tri-folded and then placed one on top of another to form a stack. Many times, the wet wipe sheets are folded, nested, interleaved or joined to an adjacent wet wipe sheet by a perforated tear line. The exact location of the leading edge of the upper most sheet in the stack may not be easily identified, either visually or tacitly. This is partly due to the fact that the substrate material of the wet wipe is typically homogeneous and thus the leading edge of the wet wipe, particularly when folded, can be hard to distinguish from the substrate material on which it rests. In addition, the leading edge portion of the wet wipe has a tendency to adhere to the underlying wet wipe substrate material on which it rests. Hence, even tactile identification of the edge by running or dragging of the fingers across the surface of the wet wipe does not immediately result in the identification of the location of the edge.
A second problem is that once the leading edge is located, it may be difficult for the consumer to grasp hold of sufficient substrate material and maintain a grasp thereof in order to separate a single wet wipe sheet from the stack upon which it rests. The consumer often is only able to grasp a small portion of the leading edge such that a tight grip thereof is not established and hence the wet wipe sheet easily slips from the fingers of the consumer.
Other factors contributing to the problem of single wet wipe dispensing include the tendency of the wet wipe substrate material to adhere to itself. This is partially due to the compression of the stack of wet wipes during manufacturing and storage. The existence of an attractive force between adjacent wet wipe sheets is compounded by the liquid solution used to impregnate the substrate material. Wet materials tend to adhere to themselves. In addition, the actual weight of the stack of wet wipes tends to keep it together. As a result, when the wet wipes are folded or interleaved together to form a stack, the substrate material tends to adhere to itself and to the substrate material of adjacent sheets. Furthermore, when the wet wipe are interleaved or joined together by a tear line, such as a perforation line, additional resistance is created since a force is needed to overcome the connection between adjacent wet wipe sheets.
Now a dispenser has been invented that will facilitate single wet wipe separation from the stack and removal of a single wet wipe from the dispenser without encountering the above-identified problems.